“A tree house should never overpower the tree in which it is built. It should sit lightly in the branches.” –Jeanie Stiles
Have you ever dreamed of having a treehouse in your backyard? Jeanie Stiles and her husband David did, so they designed one for their children, beginning with this sketch. They say it was inspired by The Hobbit, but it reminded me of Winnie-the-Pooh and the Hundred Acre Wood. Can’t you picture Owl peeking out from one of those windows?
I wrote about this treehouse back when I first started blogging and liked it so much that I wanted to share it again now that I actually have some readers who will see it! It was featured in Architectural Digest (with photos by Billy Cunningham), which explains:
Protected from weather and adults, the kid-size interior forms a cozy hide-away, inspired by J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, a favorite of the children’s.
My kids would love this. So would I! I’d be sneaking up into that treehouse every summer afternoon with a book in one hand and a glass of lemonade in the other.
“Where did Mom go?”
“Did you check the treehouse?”
P.S. Thanks for all of your sweet birthday wishes yesterday! It was fun reading them all last night when I got home. You made my day! 
Hi Julia,
Oh, so sorry I’m late wishing you a Happy Birthday a day late! Hope it was an awesome day!
This treehouse is adorable!!! I love it! So glad you shared it again since I missed it the first time.
Susan
.-= Susan´s last blog ..Welcome to the 88th Tablescape Thursday and a Great Give-a-Way! =-.
That is awesome!!! I want one!
.-= MissCaron´s last blog ..Need You Around =-.
ok first of all, the tress in our yard ain’t that big (unfortunately!) and secondly, if I had a treehouse like that, I’d never come down to cook!
.-= A View on Design by Annie´s last blog ..St Kilda style by the beach =-.
but it would be fun to entertain friends up there!
.-= Annie view on design´s last blog ..St Kilda style by the beach =-.
I love treehouses. As a child, I always wanted to live in one. Not going to happen. BUT here is a link to some amazing ones. http://www.treehouseworkshop.com/port_getaways_01.html
This is so cool! I always dreamed of having a tree house! I can’t complain, I did have a tree “floor” which were a ladder built into a group of trees and a wooden platform, but no walls. It was still cool, though, but I couldn’t put any furniture up there or anything. I hope I can give my future kids a tree house!
.-= Sarah @ Dream In Domestic´s last blog ..Revamping Recipes: Cheesy BBQ Beef Casserole =-.
Right on! I want a treehouse for MYSELF! I love the Swiss Family Robinson movie and Disney “attraction” b/c of the neat tree house. Speaking of which…wonder if you can still find SWR on VHS or DVD anymore…
I love the two landings and the cute little window on this house. What a treasure!
That is just incredible! Every child in the world would love to have that.
I’m sorry I’m late to say Happy Birthday! I hope you had a fun filled day.
~Michelle
.-= Michelle´s last blog ..A Boy Room =-.
Amazing. I love it. And man, I would have really loved it when I was a little girl.
.-= Lesley @ TheDesignFile´s last blog ..In honor of the Derby: Decorating with hats =-.
What child (or child at heart) wouldn’t love that treehouse!
And happy belated birthday. Great photo of your sidewalk party! Too funny. Love the dresses.
Happy Belated Birthday, Julia! Hope your day was full of fun and surprises!
Can I tell you how much I LOVE this treehouse?!?! I agree–reminds me so much of Winnie-the-Pooh. Missed it the first time around, so thanks for sharing again!
I love the tree house!!! Those are some very lucky kids.
.-= susie´s last blog ..A Few Of My Favorites for Flip-flop Season =-.
Awesome! I love the railing and the window!
My husband would say…wow, this would make a great deer hunting stand! LOL!
.-= Pat´s last blog ..Please Mr. Postman.. =-.
I hope you had a wonderful birthday! Tree houses, I had one a looong time ago. I loved it, it was really the only place to really escape and feel like I was on my own. Then my brother and all his friend would arrive and that moment was over! The one you’ve shown is completely charming…Janell
Oh my! Awesome treehouse! How I wish I had one….we’re thinking of building one but I highly doubt it’ll be that fancy. I don’t have a big sprawling tree like that either…mine is going to have be built between trees to support it.
.-= Astrid´s last blog ..Fun, Friends & Geode Egg Update =-.
Oh my gosh, that is the cutest thing ever! Little kid adirondacks even! If I had kids, and they had this tree house, there is no way they could keep me out of it. I’m pretty sure it would quickly become officially known as “mom’s treehouse”!
Wow, I love this treehouse! My dad built one for my brother and me, but we really didn’t spend that much time in there for some reason. I feel guilty that he went to all that trouble, and then we didn’t use it. I do remember sitting up there the day after Christmas (must’ve been a mild winter), and writing a sad, after-Christmas song about all the presents being opened, etc. I think I’d just watched the Dolly Parton movie, A Smoky Mountain Christmas, and got all inspired.
That’s the only song I’ve ever written, by the way. Maybe I should watch more Dolly Parton movies.
.-= Kelli´s last blog ..Tuesday Truth #9 – Ridiculous commercials =-.
Wow!!! This is my “when I was a child” dream home!!! Ones I was trying to make one by myself (I was like 8) and it ends with me at the hospital and a broken giant rock on the garden (I was trying to put a branch at the right height) then my father has made a beautiful one for me but not a tree house like this one!!
kisses and sorry for my english!!
Etta
Wow!!! This is my “when I was a child” dream home!!! Ones I was trying to make one by myself (I was like eight) and it ends with me at the hospital and a broken giant rock on the garden (I was trying to put a branch at the right height) then my father has made a beautiful one for me but not a tree house like this one!!
kisses and sorry for my english!!
Etta
Love, love, love treehouses! And you’re right–this is totally Pooh & Hundred Acre Wood material.
That is seriously amazing! I can’t imagine what I would have done with one of those as a child. I spent a lot of time just hanging out on tree branches anyway. My parents probably wouldn’t have been able to convince me to come inside from that tree house.
.-= Lauren´s last blog ..50 Cups of Dirt =-.
First…Happy Belated Birthday. I love the sidewalk celebration. I to have photos of myself holding a birthday cake on the sidewalk among other places (HA). Those were the days when celebrations were meaningful and simple and did not have to happen in a HUGE way. Now on t0 the treehouse! I loved it so much. Treehouses are great for big people to. I could just picture myself entertaining my girlfriends in the treehouse with southern sweet iced tea. I am now dreaming of one for myself as well as my son. Thanks so much…I always love love love your blog!
CHERYL
When I saw that sketch of the tree house, I immediately thought of Winnie-the-Pooh as well. It looks like like Owl’s house from the book I had growing up. And the finished tree house is just perfect and how every tree house should look. Love it
What a great post! Thanks for sharing it with us. I love your blog, it’s always the first one I read, whenever I have time. Happy Late Birthday, too!
I want, I want, I want! What great parents to do this for their kids!
.-= Nichole´s last blog ..To Make My Friend Feel Better =-.
Tree houses are so magical…even for me today! I lived in one as a kid, right up there in the good old apple tree. This one is awesome! Come say hi
.-= Julie Harward´s last blog ..GREAT and FUNNY TRUTHS….(Woo Hoo Wednesday) =-.
Thanks for posting this again, Julia – I enjoyed reading about it. I totally agree that it’s much more Winnie-the-Pooh than Hobbit, but maybe I was brainwashed by the style of drawing in the first picture. Either way, I would love a tree house just like this… might even share it with the kids, if they catch me on a good day
.-= Lori-Anne´s last blog ..Locked into Creative Mode: Wanda Lock =-.
Dreamy! I would like one, please
Absolutely dreamy. Wish we had some trees big enough to do that for our girls:)
Hope you had a great b-day. My Honey’s b-day was yesterday.
.-= Becky @ Farmgirl Paints´s last blog ..Our first glimpse =-.
Wow, how magical. Of course the beautiful tree helps! happy birthday!
Oh my goodness…forget the kids, I’d be up there every chance I got!
.-= Karen´s last blog ..poem: mad girl’s love song =-.
Wow! My hubby would luv that tree house since it’s inspired by the Hobbit. He’s a big fan. For me, the best thing is the tree.
.-= Marie´s last blog ..Time to Pack =-.
Awesome. Thanks for sharing this tree house. I’ve always been intrigued by the integration of trees and homes. This one is just delightful!
Now that is my kind of tree house. Pure awesome. I have always been intrigued by tree houses since I was a little girl. I remember wishing for one, but never got any. I love “Swiss Family Robinson” because of the tree houses they lived in, in the movie. What I would take to sleep in one.
That’s exactly what I thought when I saw that initial drawing! Winne the Pooh! And then when you look at the shots of the interior- that cute little door? This is totally the hundred acre wood. They are crazy. They’re just around the corner from pooh’s house!!
That is the perfect treehouse! Yep, I agree that it looks like it belongs to the Pooh crowd. I believe I would enclose at least one side to “cozy” it up a bit! Hee, hee, I’m laughing because I’m acting like it would be mine.
I always wanted a treehouse for myself as much as for our kids, but hubby didn’t agree. Winnie the Pooh has always been a favorite and I can even do a good impression of Eeyore and a great impression of Tigger!
Ta ta for now,
Susan S
Love it! This is SO cute!
this is pretty much my husband’s fantasy. (what the heck, I love it too!)
.-= Courtney @ Nesting Instincts´s last blog ..I’m BAAAAACK!!! =-.
whoa, i imagine how inspired would i be jotting in my blogs while cozily sitting in one of the tiny chairs there in that tree house..!
.-= Loida´s last blog ..Lucky.. =-.
Julia! Shoot – I missed your birthday! I hope it was a wonderful day, and you CERTAINLY deserve a day off from blogging for some celebrating of YOU!
I can NOT believe this tree house! Great idea to post it again for your new readers. Wow … now where can I find a tree … ????
.-= Polly´s last blog ..#3 – Cute handwriting. =-.
Wow! I want that tree house for me! =)
.-= Vicki @ In The Sandbox Comic Strip´s last blog ..Spring Break Camping Trip =-.
Julia, I am there with you in that treehouse, having a tea break or something. Wowza! And her talent in drawing, I looked her up after, I learned SOMETHING NEW FROM YOU, AGAIN! Jeanie Stiles. I am going to remember her. Her art, I love it. Her drawings just make me happy.
Thank you for this post, I have a thing for trees but this post is unforgettable. Hope your weekend is lovely!
.-= Kim´s last blog ..Smashing Succulents:) =-.
Treehouse is great, but it was what you said about re-posting this one that really impacted me. I started a blog about three months ago and I am feeling a lot like you must have felt early on. I’m posting great stuff, but I don’t have any readers. Thanks for the unintentional inspiration, and for the intentional inspiration breaks you give me when I need someplace wonderful to go.
Wow, what an amazing treehouse! We just finished one ourselves, but it’s much, much more simplistic than this. There’s not even a roof (just open to the tree top). We love it, though. It’s funny that you said it reminded you of Winnie the Pooh, because as soon as my 3 year old son saw the picture on the screen, he joyfully exclaimed, “Owl’s house!”
(new reader, btw … and I’m already hooked!)
How adorable!!! Wishing I had the money to put into the extra things like that when my children were smaller. Oh well…we are healthy and happy-the treehouse would have just been some icing on the cake! I hope the children who have it love it until it falls apart from tons and tons of use! Or that it lasts until their own children can play in it! =)
.-= Josanne´s last blog ..Simon, Once Again! =-.
Oh, those are some lucky kids!
.-= Ms. Pearl´s last blog ..A little touch of Provence… =-.
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